Qualification
For the first time, the World Cup finals expanded from 16 to 24 teams. This allowed more teams, especially from Africa and Asia, to participate.
Absent from the finals were 1974 and 1978 runners-up Netherlands (eliminated by Belgium and France) and 1974 and 1978 participant Sweden (eliminated by Scotland and Northern Ireland). Northern Ireland qualified for the first time since 1958. England, Czechoslovakia, Belgium, and the Soviet Union were back in the Finals after a 12-year absence. England had its first successful World Cup qualifying campaign in 20 years - the English team had qualified automatically as hosts in 1966 and as defending champions in 1970, then failed to qualify for the 1974 and 1978 tournaments. Yugoslavia were also back after missing the 1978 tournament. Algeria, Cameroon, Honduras, Kuwait, and New Zealand all participated in the World Cup for the first time. As of 2010, this was the last time Peru and El Salvador qualified for a FIFA World Cup finals.
Read more about this topic: 1982 FIFA World Cup